Mechanical stoker.



O. P. STREET.

MECHANICAL STOKEB.

APPLICATION-FILED JUNE 7, 1910.

.31 1 3QAQSD Patented Mar. 2, 1 915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

C. F. STREET.

Patel lted Mar. 2, 1915.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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APPLICATION FILED JUNE 7, 1910.

Patented Mar. 2, 1915.

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MECHANICAL STOKBR. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 7, 1910.

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' Patented Mar. 2, 1915.

cLEMENT F. STREET, or CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR To LocoMo'TrvE STOKER COMPANY, OF WEMERDING, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

MECHANICAL 'sTo ER.

Continuation of application Serial No. 418,837, filed- March 2, 1908.

Serial No. 565,579.

ers for feeding fuel to steam boiler fireboxes, and is designed for the purpose of enabling fuel, in theform of lumps or grains, or what is commercially termed slack, to be projectedinto the firebox, and to be therein burned on a grate or bed.

w Myimproved stoker is designed with a view of handling coal, coke, briquets or slack, and must be clearly distinguished from that class of stokers designed for handling pulverized or powdered fuel, which is burned in suspension and not on a grate or bed. For convenience, I will make use of the term lump fuel hereinafter to designate the kind of fuel to be used in my stoker, in which term I include crushed coal,

slack, briquets, and coke.

, One of the objects 'of my invention is to provide improved means for feeding lump fuel of the kind described onto different portions of the grate of any steam-boiler, whether that of a locomotive or of a marine boiler or of a stationary boiler, said means being independent of the usual firing-door, so that hand-firing may be carried on, and the fire be raked when necessary,'without ifnterference with the automatic feeding of uel.

Another object of my invention is to provide a mechanism for the said purpose, which shall beof simple and comparatively inexpensive construction, ofsuch form and dimensions as will render it readily applicable for use on locomotives of the various present standard t pes, without substantial obstruction of the space within the locomotive cab or interference .withthe ordinarv firing door opening and door, and which shall have the capacity'of transferring fuel from the coal space of the tender to the loco= motive fire box and distributing it to different portions of the grate thereof.

The improvements claimed are hereinafter fully set forth;

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 2, 1915. This application filed June 7, 1910.

is a rear elevation of a locomotive, equipped with my improved stol-rer, Fig. 2 is a side elevation, partly in section, of the rear end of the locomotive and the front end of the tender, F 3 is a. plan view showing the arrangement of a crusher and its operating motor on the tender, Fig.4 is a vertical sectlonal view, on a larger scale, of the devices for controlling the fluid under pressure, Fig. 5 1s a vertical section of'the controlling camdlsk, taken on the line 5+5 of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 1s a side elevation, partially in section, of one of the side distributors. Fig. 7 is an end :view of the same. Fig. 8 is a side elevation of the center distributor. Fig. 9 is a cross section of the same, taken on the line 9-9 of'Fig.'8, and Fig. 10 is a: cross section of the same, taken on the line 1010 of Fig. 8. Fig. 11 is a vertical section of the elevator and controller driving mechanism.

I have illustrated in the drawings and will now describe one form of apparatus embodying my invention as applied to a locomotive, as that is the application for which the invention has been more particularly designed, but I wish it to be understood that, as far as certain features of my invention, at least, are concerned, it is not limited in its application to locomotives. In this particular embodiinent of my invention as applied to locomotives, I provide means for transferring the fuel from the tender to a fuel receptacle located below the deck or floor of the locomotive cab, an elevator for raising the fuel from said receptacle to a point above the firing door or doors, a receptacle or distributor hopper above said door or doors into which the fuel is delivered by the elevator, a. plurality of distributors leading from said receptacle or distributor hopper into the firebox, each distributor being provided with a blast nozzle and being constructed to spread the fuel onto a certain zone or area of the grate, which zones or areas-may overlap each other, and also being constructed to induce air, a controlling device for varying the frequency and duration of the blasts through the distributors, and means for varying the pro )ortion of fuel delivered to the respective,d-istributers.

The apparatus may also comprise a crusher on the tender for reducing the fuel to suitable size; for transmission to and .10, being provided todrive the same.

supplied to the tender in a properly divided condition.

Referring to the specific instance of application of my invention shown in the drawings, 1 represents the cab of alocomotive, 2 the tender, 3 the boiler, 4 the firebox, 5 the grate, 6 the firing-door opening, 7 a chute for transferring the fuel from the tender to the locomotive, which chute has a pivotal connection with the tender and a sliding connection with the locomotive. In the instance. shown, said chute is pivoted at 8 to the bottom of a crusher 9, of the ordinary jaw type, a steam-engine or other motpr l s the crusher is not an essential part of my invention and is only required where the fuel .cannot be delivered into the tender in a sufficiently divided condition, it will be unnecessary for me to describe it or means here in detail.

The chute 7 leads downwardly and for wardly to a fuel receptacle 11, located below the floor or deck of the cab 1, the fuel being fed down said chute by gravity, but where the conditions are such as to render a gravity feed impracticable or undesirable, a screw or bucket conveyer .of any suitable known type, operated by a motor, or from an axle of the tender or locomotive, may be provided in place of the chute. In either case, the feed opening should be preferably on or below the level of the floor of the coal space of the tender.

As shown, the elevator consists of an endless chain of buckets 13, inclosed within a tubular casing, of inverted U-shape, the legs 12, 12, of which terminate in the top of the fuel receptacle 11 and extend upwardly on opposite sides of the firing door 6 and open into a distributer hopper 18, located above said door. The driving mechanism for the chain of buckets 13 consists of a steam engine or other motor 16, mounted adjacent to the top of the casing, and driving through a worm or other gear 17, see Fig. 11, a sprocket wheel 15 which engages said chain. The latter passes around guide wheels 14, v14, mounted in the fuel receptacle 11.- As this elevator may be of any suitable well-known construction, it is unnecessary to describe it in further detail.

The elevator delivers the fuel into the distributer hopper 18, to the bottom of which are connected three distributers 19,19 and 20, which pass through the water-wall 21 of the fire-box 4, the distributer 20 being located centrally above said'door and the distributers 19, 19, being'located at the sides therof.' Where the ace is of large dimensions, more than three distributers may be used, if desired, while, for a small furits operating nace, only one or two distributers may be employed.

The center distributer 20 is wholly or partially obstructed or closed at its front end, which is provided with arib 22, located centrally between concavities 21, 21, the end being inclined rearwardly from the top downwardly, as shown in Figs. 8 and 10. Adjacent to its front end, this distributer has lateral apertures 23, 23, which open downwardly and rearwardly toward the grate, the rib 22 being continued along the bottom of the distributer to a point in the rear of said apertures and having inclined sides, as shown in Figs. 8 and 9. Each of the side distributers 19, 19, is open at its front end, the lower side 24 of the opening being raised and straight, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, and the upper side being extended, as shown, and having at its end a depending lug 25, at right angles to the edge 24 of the lower side of the opening. By the construction described, the center distributer delivers the fuel to the rear portionand rear corners of the grate, while the side distributers feed it straight forward onto the sides of the grate, the lug 25 causing the fuel to be spread somewhat laterally. Of course, the zones of the grate onto which the fuel is deposited by the three distributers, are not finely demarked, but overlap each other, so that there is a fairly uniform distribution over the entire grate surface.

The rear end of each distributer is provided with two openings, the larger one 27 being for the admission of air and the smaller one 28 communicating with a steam- Fig. 4. Of course, if desired, compressed air may be used instead of steam. The valve proper 31 is normally held to its seat by the steam pressure and by a spring 33,

thus shutting off the steam from the p1pe 30, leading to the pipes 29. The valve is opened intermittently by pressure applied to its stem 34, and this is performed automatically by the cam-disk 35, acting through the lever 36, pivoted-on a bracket 37 on the valve-casing, and having a lug 38 hearing against said valve-stem. Cam-disk 35 is driven by the elevator motor 16, in the instance shown being mounted directly on the shaft/of the sprocket wheel 15.

Rotatably mounted within the cam-disk are two cam-members 39, 39, each having two cam surfaces 40'and 41, the former being of less peripheral extent than the latter,

and each having a handle 42, by which they a time, according as to which cam-surface is 28. at the rear end of each distributer.

projected, or not at all when neither camsurface is projected. Thus the fluid under pressure can either be cut off entirely from thethree distributers, when for any reason it'is desired to stop the feed of the fuel by the fluid under pressure, or can be admitted to the distributers once in each rotation of the cam-disk, and that for alonger or shorterduration of time, according as to which camsurfa ce is projected, or the fluid can be admitted twice in each rotationof the disk, either for two short periods, two long periods or for-one short and one long period.

ll'hile have shown and described the. V cam disk as provided with only two identical cam members, each provided with two cam surfaces'of different lengths, it will be obvious that more than two, or only one cam member may be provided on the disk, and that each cam member may have diflerent cam-surfaces from the other, if desired.

A nozzle 46 for the steam or other fluid under pressure is mounted in .the openigg this nozzle per 86 forms no part of my invention, it will be unnecessary to describe it in detail.

Means are provided within the distributer hopper 18 to vary theproportion of fuel fed to the several distributers.

47, slidably mounted'in guides 49 in the upper part of the hopper and actuated by a handle 50 outside the same.

19 and practically none reaches theadjacent side distributer. fiector 51, slidably mounted, in guides 52,directly over the open end ofthe center distributer and operated from outside by a handle 53. \Vhen this deflector is pushed" stood that the fuel is not stored in the hoping first reduced in size by the crusher 9, if

These comprise first, a regulator consisting of a plate.

IVhen this plate is in its innermost position, the fuel isdirected toward the opposite side distributer Second, of a V-shaped denecessary. From there it passes into the receptacle 11 on the locomotive, from which it is raised by the bucket elevator 13 through one of the legs 12 of the tubular U-shaped casing, and is delivered into the distributer hopper 18, from which it falls by gravity into the three distributer-s 19,19 and 20, in 1 amounts and proportion depending upon the adjustment of the slide 47. and deflector 51. 1

The controller-cam being set to admit blasts of steam or other fluid at predetermined intervals and for longer or shorter periods into the pipes 29, the fuel is intermittently projected from the distributers onto the grate in the manner above de scribed. At the same time, there is no interference with the firing door 6, so that the fireman can attend to the fire and, if necessary, feed fuel into it by hand, asusual.

The means for'distributing the fuel over the grate area, and comprising the particular form of distributers, and the mechanism for admitting and regulating the admission of fluid pressure thereto, is not claimed in this application, but. it is covered in my divisional application Ser. No. 772,513, filed June 9, 1913.

Having thus described my invention,

what I claim is:

below the firing floor, an elevator for conveying the fuel from said receptacle to a pointabove the level of the fuel bed, and means for delivering the fuel therefrom into the furnace. p

In a locomotive and tender, the combination with the boiler furnace, of a mechanical stoker apparatus mounted on the locomotive andv comprising a fuel receptacle below the firing floor, means below said floor for delivering fuel from the tender into said receptacle, an elevator for conveying the fuel from said receptacle to a point above the level of the fuel bed, and means for deliver- 'ing the-fuel therefrom into the furnace.

3. In a locomotive, the combination with its the boiler furnace and its firing door, ofa

mechanical stoker apparatus mounted on the ve ving the fuel from said receptacle to a po'int,above the said door, and a gravity discharge conduit for delivering fuel from said point into the furnace. V v

'4. In a locomotive, the combination withthe boiler furnace, and its firingv door, of a mechanical Stoker, apparatus mounted on the locomotive and comprising a. fuel receptacle below the firing floor, a conduit located above said-door, an elevator for conveying fuelfrom said receptacle to said conduit,

and a gravity discharge passage leading from said conduit intothe furnace inde conduit and leading into the furnace independentl of said door.

6. In a locomotive, the combination with the boiler furnace and its firing door, of a mechanical stoker apparatus mounted on the locomotive and comprising a fuel receptacle below the firing floor, an elevator for conveying the fuel from said receptacle to a point above the said door, and a plurality of gravity conduits for delivering the fuel into the furnace independently of said door.

7. Tn a locomotive, the combination with the boiler furnace, and its firing door, of a mechanical stoker comprising a fuel receptacle located on the locomotive below the firing floor, a tubular casing extending upward from said receptacle on each side of said door, an endless conveyer operating in said casing for raising fuel from said receptacle, and means for delivering fuel from said casing into the furnace.

8. Tn a locomotive, the combination with the boiler furnace, and its firing door, of a mechanical stolrer comprising a fuel receptacle located on the locomotive below the firing floor, a tubular casing extending upward from said receptacle on each side of said door to a point above the same, an end less conveyer operating in said casing and receptacle to raise the fuel therefrom, and means for delivering the fuel from said casing above the door into the furnace.

9. Tn a locomotive, the combination with a boiler furnace having a firing door, of a mechanical stoker apparatus mounted on the locomotive and comprising a fuel,receptacle located below said door, a tubular casing extending upward from said receptacle toa point above said door, an elevator operating in said casing to raise the fuel from said receptacle, and means for deliver.- ing the fuel from the casing above the door into the furnace. L

10. The combination with a boiler furnace having a firing door, of a mechanical stoker comprising a fuel receptacle located below said door, a tubular casing extending upward from said receptacle on each side of said door, an endless conveyer operating in said casing and receptacle to raise the a e infuel therefrom, and means for delivering the fuel from said easing into the furnace.

11. Tn a locomotive and tender, the combination with the boiler furnace and its firing door, of a mechanical stoker apparatus mounted on the locomotive and comprising a fuel receptacle, adistributer hopper located above said door, a power-actuated elevator passing through said receptacle and constructed to elevate the fuel therefrom and deliver it into said distributer hopper, a plurality of distributers leading into said furnace independently of said door, and means to force the fuel out of said distributers into said furnace, and a conduit to convey fuel from the tender into said receptac le on the locomotive.

12. Tn a locomotive, the combination with the boiler furnace and its firing door, of a mechanical stoker apparatus mounted on the locomotive and comprising a fuel receptacle located below said door, a casing located above said door, a power actuated elevator for conveying the fuel from the receptacle into said casing, a distributer leading into the furnace independent of the door, a fuel conduit from said casing to the distributer, and means for forcing the fuel from said distributer into the furnace.

13. The combination with a locomotiveboiler furnace having afiring door, of mechanical Stoker comprising a fuel receptacle located on the locomotive below said door, a distributer leading into the furnace independently of said door, a tubular casing extending upwardly from said receptacle, an endless conveyer operating in said casing to elevate fuel from said receptacle and deliver it to the distributer, and means for forcing the fuel through said distributer into the furnace.

It. The combination with a boiler furnace provided with a firing door, of a me hopper into the furnace independently of said door, and means for forcing the fuel out of said distributers.

Tn testimony of which T have hereunto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses, this 6th day of June, 1910.

CLEMENT E. STREET.

Witnesses:

CHAnLns E. GnRNnnT, I L. E. Usnonnn. 

